Registering device



P 4 E. SEIGNOL ErAL 8,06

REGISTERING DEVICE Fgled June 28, 1937 lnvenio 's Patented Apr. 23, 1940UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE assignors to Societe veloppement DIndustriesMecaniques Auxiliaire pour le De- D. I. M.), a corporation ofSwitzerland Application June 28, In France 4 Claims.

This invention relates to computing or registering machines.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improvedregistering device which is characterized by its extreme simplicity, thecertainty of its operation, and the very small number of strong andsimple parts of which it is composed. A meritorious feature of theinvention is the novel manner of returning the machine to zero by asimple backward turn of the register shaft.

The following specification and accompanying drawing represent oneembodiment of the invention. It is understood that the principle of theinvention is applicable to other forms of registering machines.

Various other objects, advantages and meritorious features will appearmore fully from the following specification, appended claims, andaccompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view of a registering device in assembled condition andmounted on a support,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the one face of a drum and its ratchetwheel,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the opposite face of a drum showing itshub, the spring positioned on this hub, and the boss on the inner sideof the rim on which rests the bent extremity of the flexible metalblade,

Fig. 4 is a viewof the gear wheel for controlling the operation of theregistering device having teeth engaging with the teeth of a socketacting in place of a ratchet wheel for the first-drum,

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional View of Fig. 1 on the ratchet wheel of thedrum showing the starting position of the spring on the preceding drumwhen the same is at zero,

Figs. 6 and 7 show the positions of the spring, before and after itspassage over the cam sepa- 40 rating two adjacent drums, and its actionon the ratchet wheel of the next succeeding drum,

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are cut away front elevation views, partly in dottedoutline, of the three preceding figures, setting forth the successivepositions of the spring on the boss of the drum and on the cam.

The registering wheels or drums of the registering device are freelymounted on the shaft or axle I which is held immovable during theoperation of the drums by the action of a spring 2 fixed to a support 3.The spring 2 has a bent end engaged in notch 4 of a'disc 5 fixed uponthe shaft l by a key engaged in the groove 6 of this shaft.

1937, Serial No. 150,818

July 4, 1936 The device whose movements it is desired to count isconnected to the first drum of the register by any suitable means, suchas a worm gear.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the movement istransmitted to the regis- 5 ter by a gear wheel I mounted for freerotation on the hollow shaft 8, which is slidably fitted over shaft Iand keyed thereto for joint rotation therewith. A one way drivemechanism couples the gear wheel I to the first drum on the shaft. 10 Asshown in Fig. 4, it comprises cooperating crown ratchet bosses on thegear wheel and'a sleeve H fixed to the first drum, the teeth 9 and H) ofwhich are shaped to provide a one-way drive between the gear wheel andthe drum.

The calculating machine has as many drums mounted in succeeding order asnecessary. Each drum, except the first, is provided on one face with aratchet wheel I3 (Fig. 2) having ten teeth, for example, and on itsoppositeface (Fig. 20 3) with a hub l4 and a boss l5 on the inner sideof its rim. Means for connecting two drums together for joint rotationcomprises a spring support IS on the hub 14, the two elements beingsecured to the drum by a screw I1. Spring support l6 carries a flexiblemetal blade l8 bent at its extremity Hi, this metal blade being of awidth sufficient to rest a part of its elbow 20 on the boss 15, itsmiddle part will climb the'incline of the cam 2i interposed between twoadjacent drums and its other side will extend into the plane of theratchet wheel so that as it nears the end of its passage over this camit will enter in engagement with the teeth on the ratchet wheel of thenext succeeding drum and cause its rotation as will be explained morefully hereinafter. The boss l5 on which rests the elbow 20 of theflexible metal blade 16, is for the purpose of avoiding contact of thespring with the inner surface of the rim of the next drum. 40

The cams 2| (Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are formed of thin plates, such as steelfor example. They are interposed between the drums, and have a contourlike that shown between the points A and A. These cams, identical inform and dimension, are positioned in the embodiment of the inventionillustrated herein by the rod 22 and their support on the base 3. Theyare provided as shown with straight bottom edges bearing on the flat topsurface of the base 3. They are mounted on the rod 22 for bodilymovement lengthwise thereof and follow any axial shifting movement ofthe drums during the operation of the device. The engagement between thestraight bottom edges of the plates and the base portion prevent theplates from turning on the rod or following the rotative movement of thedrums.

Several steel washers 23 (Fig. 1) furnished with keys engaged in grooves6 of the axle l are interposed between the registering drums.

The springs 24 and 25 compressed between the end Walls of the machineand the opposite ends of the drum series cause a certain frictionalcohesion of the drums and the washers 23. The springs also yieldinglyforce the drum assembly and the gear wheel 1 toward one another andoperatively engage the teeth 9 and ID of the drive mechanism. If thegear wheel I should be rotated in the direction opposite to thedirection in which it drives the drums the teeth 9 will ride out of theteeth l0 and either 01 both the drum assembly and the gear wheel willretract back against the springs 24 and 25 to accomplish thedisengagement. The operation of the registering device is as follows:

At first, when all the drums are at zero, the springs occupy theposition shown in Figs. 5 and 8, that is to say, the elbows 20 of theflexible blades rest on the boss l5 and the bent extremity of thesprings are adjacent to the edge 28 at the point A on cam 2|.

Movements which it is desired to count are transmitted to the toothedwheel I to rotate the latter in any suitable way. The teeth 9 associatedwith the wheel 1 engage with the teeth ID on sleeve H and impartrotation to the first drum l2. The teeth 9 and H) are shaped so thatrotation of the wheel I in a counting or adding direction is transmittedto the first drum of the series but reverse rotation of the wheel 1 isineffective upon the drums.

The first drum in turning causes the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 to appearsuccessively on the dial corresponding to this drum. At a certainmoment, the elbow 20 of the metal blade of the spring [6 encounters thecam 2| at the point A (Figs. 6 and 9). The spring then commences toclimb the incline of the cam 2|. When it occupies the position shown inFig. 7 (and in the front view in Fig. 10), that is to say, when it isexactly in vertical alignment with the axis of the drum, the numeral 9of the dial of the first drum appears in view. The bent extremity IQ ofthe spring then comes into contact with the radial side of one of theratchet teeth of the next drum (Fig. '7) and will carry the same justpast the point A of the slope at which time the extremity I 9 returns tothe boss l5- after an exact turn at 36. It will then retract from theratchet teeth with which it has just made a tenth of a rotation, that isto say, the distance of one tooth, which causes the number 1 to appearon the dial of the second drum at the moment when the first drum reachesZero. The washers 23 which are keyed in the groove 6 of the shaft I, areimmovable during the operation of the registering device, andfrictionally act to prevent the rotation of one drum from beingtransmitted to the next succeeding drum. Each of the drums are thusisolated and are not able to be turned except by action on its ratchetwheel by the flexible blade of the preceding drum. The first drum thencommences a new turn about the shaft I which upon completion will causethe second drum to rotate one tenth of a revolution or the distance ofone tooth. This will cause the numeral 2 to appear on the dial, and soon.

Each complete turn of the second drum corresponds to ten turns of thefirst drum, and each complete turn of the third drum corresponds to tenturns of the second drum or to one hundred turns of the first drum, andso forth.

Return of the registering wheels to zero is effected by turning thehollow shaft 8 and its associated shaft I in the direction opposite totheir operating or computing direction of rotation. This will be in aclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 5 to 7 and will at the same timerotate backwardly the friction washers 23 and the drums l2 compressedinto frictional engagement therewith. The drums will thus be rotated ina direction reverse to their normal counting direction of rotation.

Each drum is separately prevented from further reverse rotation as soonas the bent extremity I9 of the flexible blades encounter the stop 26 onthe high side of the cam plates 2|. When all the drums have returned tothis position, all the zeros of the graduations will appear on the dial.Then the hollow shaft 8 is freed from control. The bent end of thespring 2, fixed on the support, returns into a notch 4 of the disc 5which is keyed to shaft I. This will yieidingly hold the shaft in suchposition during the computing operations of the drums.

The collars 21 and 28 (Fig. 1) are for the purpose of preventinglongitudinal displacement of the shaft I during operation.

If movements are transmitted to the registering device in the oppositeor subtractive direction, these movements will not be registered becausethe teeth 9 of wheel I, if turned in a reverse direction, will notimpart movement to the teeth H1 and as a result the drums are notrotated.

What we claim is:

l. A registering device comprising, in combination, a shaft, a pluralityof drums rotatably and slidably carried upon said shaft, frictionmembers slidably keyed to the shaft extending between each adjacentpair, of drums and fric tionally acting to restrain rotation of thedrums relative to the shaft, means yieldingly urging the assembled drumsand the friction members together on said shaft, transfer mechanismbetween the drums including a plurality of flat metal elementsinterleaved with the drums, said elements projecting beyond thecircumferences of the drums, and means engaging the projecting portionsof said elements and supporting the same for independent bodily movementparallel to the shaft but preventing the same from turning with thedrums about the axis of the shaft.

2. A registering device comprising, in combination, a support includinga flat top base portion and spaced parallel upright supporting portions,a shaft extending in spaced parallel relationship to the top of saidbase portion and having its opposite ends journaled in said uprightsupporting portions, a plurality of drums rotatably and slidably carriedby said shaft, means associated with each drum slidable therewith butfrictionally resisting rotation of the same relative to the shaft, a rodextending parallel to the shaft but in spaced relationship to thecircumferences of the drums, a plurality of fiat metal plates formingpart of a transfer mechanism between each pair of drums independentlyslidably mounted upon said rod and separately interleaved with thedrums, said plates having straight bottom edges bearing upon the flattop of said base portion and preventing the same from following therotative movement of the drums about the shaft but permitting lateralbodily movement of the same to follow any slidable movement of the drumson the shaft.

3. A registering device comprising, in combination, a rotatable shaft, aplurality of drums rotatably and slidably carried by said shaft,

' as each drum completes a revolution about the shaft, a member freelyrotatable about the shaft adjacent to the first mentioned end of thedrum assembly, disengageable drive means acting parallel to the axis ofthe shaft, coupling said member to the adjacent drum in said drumassembly, and means acting on the opposite end of said drum assemblyyieldingly urging the same along the shaft toward said member andoperatively engaging the drive means between said adjacent drum and themember.

4. A registering device comprising, in combination, a shaft, a supportfor the opposite ends of the shaft, a plurality of drums rotatably andslidably assembled on said shaft between the supports, friction discsslidably keyed to the shaft between the drums and acting to frictionallyresist rotation of the drums relative to the shaft, transfer mechanismassociated with each drum for imparting rotative movement to the drumssuccessively from one end of the drum assembly to the other end as eachdrum completes a revolution about the shaft, said transfer mechanismincluding a plurality of thin flat plates interleaved between the drumsand extending out wardly beyond the circumferences of the drums, meansmounting the outer exposed portions of said plates for bodily movementparallel to the drum shaft but restraining the same from movement aboutthe axis of the shaft, a member freely rotatable on the shaft adjacentto the first mentioned end of the drum assembly, a one-way drive crownratchet wheel means operatively cou- EDOUARD SEIGNOL. PAUL REVEL.

